Dr Melina Throuvala, PhD, HCPC registered and BPS accredited, is a Counselling Psychologist and an Academic with an international research and clinical expertise in behavioural addictions.

Dr Throuvala has contributed with her pioneer research to the World Health Organisation’s Expert Groups for gaming disorder assessment and the inclusion of gaming disorder as a psychiatric condition in the ICD-11. Dr Throuvala has developed research under the expert guidance of world-known Professor Mark Griffiths, Professor Daria Kuss, Dr Halley Pontes and Psychology in Oncology expert, Dr Mike Rennoldson. Additionally, Dr Throuvala has contributed to UK Clinical guidelines produced by the Royal Society of Psychiatry, for professionals working with problematic social media use. Technology use and the mental health of children and young people

More recently, working in the NHS, Melina has contributed to the founding of the 3^rd Gambling Harms Clinic in the Midlands and has supported individuals experiencing gaming and gambling harms to reconnect with their lives and break-free from harmful engagement.

Working in the NHS with physical health conditions, in Paediatric Psychology, Dr Throuvala is currently leading the Psychological Service at the East Midlands Congenital Heart Network EMCHN, offering inpatient and outpatient support to patients, with physical health conditions and often co-occuring neurodivergent challenges. Through her work in Paediatric Respiratory Special Interest Group, Dr Throuvala has contributed to Guidelines for Psychology Provision within Paediatric Respiratory Services in Respiratory Medicine Gold standards in psychological provision in respiratory Services

Dr Throuvala’s research work on prevention of digital challenges in schools along the development and psychometric validation and the first Assessment tool on Smartphone Distraction , has been internationally recognised and culturally validated in 6 countries (China, Turkey, Italy, Japan, Greece, Korea). Recent research initiatives involve assessment and screening in inpatient and outpatient settings and neonatal units, and quality improvement in children’s services for chronic physical health conditions.

Dr Throuvala offers additional specialised assessment services upon request, such as cognitive, motor, sensory, memory, dyslexia, behaviour assessments, in collaboration with other UK registered Specialist Mental Health Professionals.

Publications

Montag, C., Demetrovics, Z., Elhai, J. D., Grant, D., Koning, I., Rumpf, H. Y., Spada, M., Throuvala, M., & van den Eijnden, R. J. (2023). Problematic social media use in childhood and adolescence. Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.107980

Pontes, H. M., Montag, C., Elhai, J. D., Monteiro, A. V., Evren, C., Throuvala, M. A., Macur, M., McDowall, A., Rumpf, H., Carbonell, X., Kuss, D., Lopez‐Fernandez, O., & Griffiths, M. D. (2022). Stigma and gaming disorder: Should we take a ‘glass half full’ or ‘glass half empty’ perspective? Addiction, 117(6), 1816–1817. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15831 

Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2021). Psychosocial skills as a protective factor and other teacher recommendations for online harms prevention in schools: A qualitative analysis. Frontiers in Education, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.648512

Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2021). Policy recommendations for preventing problematic internet use in schools: A qualitative study of parental perspectives. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18,4522.

Betts, L., Buglass, S., Abell, L., Doak, L., Harding, R., Hill, R., Steer, O., Throuvala, M. A., & Paechter, C. (2021). Inquiry into Living Online: The long-term impact on wellbeing. Report submitted to the House of Lords Covid-19 Committee (Beyond digital planning on a hybrid world). Available from: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/18869/html/ 

Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2021b). Perceived challenges and online harms from social media use on a severity continuum: A qualitative psychological stakeholder perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063227

Throuvala, M. A., Pontes, H. M., Tsaousis, I., Griffiths, M. G., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2021). Exploring the dimensions of smartphone distraction: Development, validation, measurement invariance and latent mean differences of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS). Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 642634. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.642634 

Kuss, D.J., Throuvala, M. A., Pontes, H. M., Nuyens, F., Burleigh, T., & Griffiths, M. D. (2020). Řešení digitální a herní závislosti: Výzva pro 21 století [Solutions for digital and gaming addiction: A challenge for the 21st century]. Translated by Lucie Grolmusova. Prague: Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. 

Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2020). Mind over matter: Testing the efficacy of an online randomized controlled trial to reduce distraction from smartphone use. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(13), 4842. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17134842 

Sindermann, C., Kuss, D. J., Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., & Montag, C. (2020). Should we pay for our social media/messenger applications? Preliminary data on the acceptance of an alternative to the current prevailing data business model. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1415. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01415 

Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M. & Kuss, D. J. (in press) The role of recreational online activities in school-based screen-time sedentary behaviour interventions for adolescents: A systematic and critical literature review. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2019). A ‘control model’ of social media engagement in adolescence: A grounded theory analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(23), 4696. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234696 

Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. (2019a). The ‘iCare for Myself’ programme: Testing the efficacy of an evidence-based, randomized controlled trial to curb distractibility and excessive smartphone and social media use. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 8(S1), 123. Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2018a). Clinical case study presentation on overcoming gaming addiction: When a quick fix is not enough. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7(S1), 153. 

Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2018b). Treatment of problematic internet use and patient characteristics: The case of Problematic Internet Use Unit 18 Ano in Greece. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7(S1), 152.
Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2019b). 

Recommendations for public policy and prevention of problematic online behaviours: A multi-stakeholder perspective and the common denominator. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 8(S1), 123. 

Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. J. (2018). School-based prevention for adolescent internet addiction: Prevention is the key. A systematic literature review. Current Neuropharmacology, 17, doi:10.2174/1570159X16666180813153806

Griffiths, M. D., Lopez-Fernandez, O., Throuvala, M. A., Pontes, H., & Kuss, D. J. (2018). Excessive and problematic use of social media in adolescence: A brief overview. Report submitted to the UK Parliament Science and Technology Committee (Impact of social media and screen-use on young people’s health inquiry). https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.11280.71682 

Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., & Kuss, D. J. (2018). Commentary on Colder Carras (2018) Psychiatric nosology should be informed by multiple stakeholder perspectives [Center for Open Science]. Retrieved from https://osf.io/eytwk/